Thursday, October 7, 2010

CD Review: Dark Dark Dark, Wild Go (Supply & Demand Music)

Dark Dark Dark

Wild GoSupply And Demand Music

By Giles Turnbull

Wild Go is the sophomore album from Minneapolis-based Dark Dark Dark. The sextet began as a collaboration in 2006, centered around Nona Marie Invie’s distinctively beautiful voice, with additional vocals from Marshall LaCourt, and the pair’s excellent songwriting. The dramatically sparse supporting cast of instruments captures emotions and creates a mood simultaneously happy and sad.

This album is expansively spacious, and yet full of many things; there’s a certain something that you feel but just can’t put your finger on. It may be the elusive mix of styles, bluesy and atmospheric, but dodging further categorization; the tempos, fairly uniform throughout, in a way that’s mesmerizing, never prosaic; every song, intensely personal and at the same time relevant to the world.

Here a melancholy violin reflects on romance, there a meandering accordion gives a Parisian air of intrigue; a certain je ne sais quoi. Everything is in perfect balance, whether it’s the stark simplicity of “Robert,” the solemnity of “Heavy Heart,” or the drifting emotion of “Say The Word;” from the apocalyptic storytelling of title track “Wild Go,” imagining New York returning to its natural state, to the breathtaking views in the landscape of “Daydreaming,” over which the Invie’s vocal melody floats like a feather on the wind.

The album release show in Minneapolis, which drew over 1,000 people for the start of their US tour, speaks volumes for the engaging appeal of Wild Go.

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About Me

I've spent my life burried in books and writing. I'm a poet at heart. I co-founded a music magazine and still write about music. My mission for 2011 is to learn quilting, felting and hat making. I want it to be a creative year.
I'm pretty much blind, having very low vision now, so lets have a big thumbs up for things like assistive technology and audiobooks; they make the whole reading thing so much easier!